I am excited to announce that my first professional publication for the
National Park Service is now available. I got a call yesterday saying the print
copy of the Jewel Cave Scout Ranger Activity Booklet is back from the
printers and is now available at Jewel Cave National
Monument. My copy is still in the mail, but
if the test prints indicate anything, the final print will be one of the
highest quality free publications the park service offers. If you are a
scouting or youth organization planning a visit to the Black Hills of South
Dakota, please take time to visit the cave and inquire about the publication.
The booklet covers the history of the area, the formation of the cave, and the
role that the National Park Service plays in its preservation. It is a full
color print with beautiful photographs of the cave, cave explorers, and
surrounding flora and fauna. Did I mention it is a free publication?

In other news, these past months have been extremely busy for me.

In January, I made the move to my new residence in Seattle, WA. and continued
to develop my personal creative projects. I finished editing a collection of
seven poems, which are now making the rounds to publishers. Two short stories
(“Lapis Lazuli” and “Centaurs with Newspapers”) will soon join the poems in the
ethereal void between my desk and the trash bins of editors. I am would also
like to announce that I am starting construction of a website for Alt.Real, a
weekly webcomic launching in March 2010.

About

Joseph Hallenbeck attended the RTIS program at DigiPen Institute of Technology, studied Victorian-era literature at the University of Oxford, and graduated from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD with a B.A. in Philosophy and English Literature. He has worked as an interpretive ranger, naturalist, and caver for the National Park Service and is now employed as a Software Engineer at Research Square in Durham, NC.